Traffic counter



May 19, 1953 G. R. HALL 2,639,093

TRAFFIC COUNTER Filed May 25, 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 1 a9 38 INVENTOR. 44EN R. HALL ATT'IT 19, 1953 G. R. HALL 2,639,093

TRAFFIC COUNTER Filed May 25, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 42 ew R.11,44;

G. R. HALL TRAFFIC COUNTER May 19, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 25,1950 Patented May 19, 1953 UN 1 ED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAFFIC COUNTERGlen R. Hall, Uhrichsvillc, Ohio Application May 25, 1950, Serial No.164,120

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a traflic counter of the type used forcounting and making a record of the number of automobiles, and othervehicles, which move along a street, road, or other highway. At thepresent time counters are in use which register the number of vehiclesmoving along a street but they will be operated whenever a vehiclemoving along the street passes across a hollow rubber tube extendingfrom the counter across thesurface of the street and are thereforeoperated by vehicles moving in either direction along the street.Therefore to count one direction it is customary to extend the hoseacross only :a trafiic lane in which vehicles are intended to move inone direction, but it often happens that avehicle carelessly driven orattempting to pass another vehicle ahead of it will be movingpartially-in one tra-lfic lane and partiallyin a lane provided fortrafiic moving in ,an opposite direction and the vehicles will beimproperly counted dueto the vehicle intended to be counted failing topass across the tube or due to the fact that a vehicle traveling in theopposite direction moves out of its lane'and passes across the tube.

Therefore one object of the invention is to provide a traffic counter ofsuch construction that when'itis in use it may be caused to counttraflic moving along a highway in one direction but fail tocounttra-flicmoving in an opposite direction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a trafiic counter of suchconstruction that a pair of counters may be installed at opposite sidesof a highway so connected that one will count and record trafiic movingin one direction while the other counts and records traiiic moving in anopposite direction. It will thus be seen that an oilicial of a citytrafiic department can obtain an accurate record of trafiic movementsalong a street in each direction during predetermined periods of timeand determine whether one way traffic should be permitted along thestreet during rush hours and how long a time the one way should .bemaintained during these periods.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a traific counter operatedby air pressure and including avalvestructure havinginlets with whichtubes are connected, the tubes being disposed across a highway inside byside relation to each other so that the wheels of a vehicle moving alongthe highway will pass across both tubes one after width may besoconnected with a pair of counters at opposite sides of the highwaythat traflic moving in one direction will cause a counter at one side ofthe highway and trafiic moving in an opposite direction cause thecounter at the other side of the highway to be operated and neitherimproperly operated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a trafiio-cO-unterincluding a valve structure wherein a ball is lifted from a seat andefiec'ts closing of a circuit for an electrically energized counter andwherein air is trappedin the valve structure and thus prevented fromlifting the ball when a vehicle not to be counted passes across the twotubes of the counter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a traflic counterincluding a valve structure wherein. excess pressure exerted when aheavy truck or bus passes over a tube and forces air into the valvestructure to close a valve and prevent operation of the counter will berelieved and improper operation of the counter prevented.

Another object of the invention is to provide a traflic counter having avalve structure so con-' structed that it may be readily taken apart andthoroughly cleaned and then easily reassembled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve structure whichmay be incorporated in a traffic counter including circuit closing meansof the construction shown in my copending application Serial No. 674,487filed June 5, 1946 and issued as Patent 'No. 2,547,937 on April 10, 1951The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the improved traffic counter showing itstubes extending across a highway.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the counter in side elevation and its tubes incross section.

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation looking at one end of the counter.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the counter.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the cover raised and showingmechanism in the cas- Fig. 6 is a view looking-down upon Figure .5.

Fig. 7 is a view showing the co-Lmter partially in vertical section andpartially in side elevation.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view upon :an enlarged scale taken along theline 88 of Figure 6.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view upon an enlarged scale taken along the line9-9 of Figure 6.

10 is a vertical sectional view taken alon the line I'll-40 of Figure-9.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line Il-ll of Figure 10.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken along the lineI2-l2 of Figure 10.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view upon an enlarged scale taken verticallythrough Figure 10 along the line I3I3.

Fig. 14 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line I d-l4 ofFigure 13.

Fig. 15 is a view taken along the line I5--I5 of Figure 13.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a valve element forming a portion ofthe valve structure.

Fig. 17 is a view showing the piston which carries the valve element ofFigure 16 partially in perspective and partially in vertical section.

Fig. 18 is an enlarged view of an air filter mounted in each of the airinlet nipples.

Fig. 19 is a wiring diagram.

Fig. 20 is a diagrammatic view showing counters disposed at oppositesides of a highway and having the two tubes connected with them so thatvehicles moving in opposite directions may be separately counted.

This improved counter has an electrically operated counter and actuatingmechanism therefore enclosed in a casing I which is preferably formed oflight-weight metal, such as aluminum, and has a base 2 and a cover 3connected with the base by a hinge 4 for movement from a closed positionshown in Figures 1 and 2, in which it rests ,upon the base to the raisedor opened position-shown in Figure 5. An arm 5 extends upwardly from thebase, midway the width of its front end, and near its upper end this armis formed with a transversely extending opening 6 which is aligned withopenings 7 formed near upper ends of ribs 8 on the cover so that anelongated shackel 9 may be passed through the openings 6 and I and alock I then applied to the arms of the shackel. The cover will thus beheld closed and the shackel may be grasped and used as a handle forcarrying the counter from one place to another.

Within the casing is a mechanical counter II which is mounted upon abracket l2 having one end secured to the base and its other endsupported upon a post l3 carried by and extending upwardly from thebase. The counter is mounted in such position. upon the bracket that itmay be seen through a window I4 in the cover and read. without raisingthe cover. The counter II is of conventional construction and isoperated by a crank I urged downwardly by a spring l5 and connected withthe core l6 of a solenoid I! resting upon a support I8 which projectsfrom the bracket I2, the solenoid and its core being disposedvertically. The solenoid obtains its energy from dry batteries I9removably secured upon the base by a clamp 20 and in order to controlflow of current through the solenoid there has been provided circuitclosing mechanism which is shown in Figures 5, 7, and 19 and is similarin construction to that shown by my copending application 674,487 and inmy Patent 2,403,277 issued July 2, 1946, but includes features ofconstruction not found therein, and by means of which the device may becaused to count vehicles traveling in only one direction along a highwayor in both directions if so desired.

- Referring to these figures it will be seen that the base carries astandard formed of brass, or other suitable material. Mounted on thestandard is an insulating strip 22 and above the strip '4 of insulationis mounted a strip of thin and resilient conductive metal 23 whichserves as a movable contact and is of such length that it projectsbeyond the free outer end of the insulating strip. A contact point 24 iscarried by the resilient strip in spaced relation to the free endthereof. The standard also carries a strip of insulating material 25which is of greater length than the insulating strip 22. This insulatingstrip 25 and the resilient strip 23 and the lower insulating strip 22are held in spaced relation to each other by spacers 26 carried by thestandard 2i and firmly secured upon the standard by a nut 21 applied tothe upper end thereof. A contact screw 28 is threaded through theinsulating strip 25 directly over the contact point 2 5 for engagementby the contact point when the movable contact strip 23 is flexedupwardly and as the screw is adjustable through the insulating strip itmay be shifted vertically and thus cause it lower end to be normallyspaced from the contact point 2d a predetermined distance. It will thusbe seen that the time interval required for the contact 24 to engage thelower end of the contact screw may be varied. A wire 29 connects thecontact screw with a binding post 38. A wire 32 connects post with oneend of the coil of the solenoid and the other end of the solenoid coilis connected with a binding post 33 by a wire 34. A wire 35 connectspost 33 with one side of the battery I9 which has attached to its otherside a wire 36 connecting it with a terminal post or screw 31 mountedthrough the base in insulated relation thereto, as shown in Figure 12.The binding post 31 is located near a metal nipple 38 and carries aresilient contact arm or strip 39 which has its free end portionoverlapping a collar 40 formed about the nipple, and when the contactarm or strip is forced towards the collar to a position in which itscontact point M engages the collar current may flow through the basebetween the wire 36 and the standard 2! and a circuit will be completedthrough the solenoid coil when the movable contact 23 is flexed upwardlyand its contact point 24 engages the stationary contact screw 28 toenergize the solenoid and operate the counter I I. The resilient contactstrip 39 is normally spaced from the collar 40, as shown in Figure 8,but is moved into engagement with the collar, as shown in Figure 12,when a tube is applied to the nipple 38.

The nipple 38 is screwed into the enlarged outer end portion 42 of anopening 43 communieating with a well or socket 44 formed verticallythrough a thick portion d5 of the base 2. A sleeve 46 is screwed intothe well through the lower end thereof and has its lower end formed withan outstanding head or flange 47 which bears against the under face ofthe base and is formed with wrench-engaging faces so that the sleeve may.be screwed tightly into place. This sleeve has its lower end closed bya plug 48 formed with an upstanding diametrically extending lug d9 ofless length than the diameter of the lug, and a short distance above itshead l! the sleeve is formed with transversely cut slots 59 locatedwithin the socket M when the sleeve is screwed into the socket. Thesleeve is almost bisected by the two slots, as shown in Figures 9 and1G, and therefore when the sleeve is screwed into the socket one of theslots will communicate with a passage 5i connecting the lower end of thewell or socket M with a socket 52 formed in the base in spaced parallelrelation to the 42. and into. which is screwed a nipple :3. This nipple.is also formed. with an outstanding flange. 5k whichlimits its inwardmovement when screwed into the socket 52 and prevents its inner endportion for blocking the passage 5 I. In addition to the sockets 42 and52 the base also formedwith a vertically extending socket 55 which. isconnected. with: the socket M. by a. horizontal passage 55, the passage56 having comimmi-cation with the socket 44 between spaced ends ofthe;sleeve 46 and an. upper sleeve .51. The upper sleeve is formed at itsupper end with a head .58 armed with wrench-engaging edgefaces and aboutthe upper end of the bore of the upper sleeve is formed an annular seat59 upon which rests a metal ball 50 li'his ball is of sufli'cientweight. to cause gravity" to move it downwardly onto the seat 59 andclose the bore of the upper sleeve, and it is entirely free andunconfined so that it may be quickly shifted upwardly by air forcedupwardly through the upper sleeve and raise the movable contact strip 23upwardly and cause its contact point 2-4 to momentarily engage thestationary contact screw or point .28. While the freely movable andunconfined member :50 has been shown inthe form. of asphere or ball itwill be understood that it could be a halfball, an inverted cone. andother specific shapes which will allow it to. have close fittingengagement. with its seat and at the sametime so engage the over.-lapping portion of the resilient strip 33 that only a slight upward.movement of the ball or member" is sufficient to close the circuit:through the battery and the solenoid and operate the counter I I. Itwill thus be seen. that a vehicle passes across the rubber hose Blfitted: about the nipple 38 and. closed. at its outer end by acap 6| airis forced. inwardly through the nipple and through a passage consistingof the opening 43,. the well 44, and the bore of the upper 516981825 1the hall or member 6.0 will be shifted upwardly and the circuitclosed.

As. the ball moves upwardly air will escape from the bore of. the uppersleeve about the ball.

and the ball will drop back ontothe seat, this.

downward movement of the ball being assisted by resiliency of. themovable contact strip which has pressing engagement with the ball. Whenthe hose is applied to the nipple 38 it engages a, washer 62 which fitsloosely about the nipple and applies pressure to a helical spring 63 andtensions the spring so that the spring shifts the washer or collar 64along the nipple towards the inner end thereof. This collar overlaps thefree end of the resilient contact arm 39 and moves it from the openedposition shown in Figure 8 to the closed position. shown. in Figure 12for grounding the wire 35. A screen $5 having a handle 63- is thrustinto the nipple through the outer end thereof and serves to preventdust, and other matter, from passing through the nipple. into the welland clogging the opening 4-3 or the. bore of the upper sleeve. Duringdownward. movement of the ball air is drawn inwardly about the ballandthrough the bore of the upper sleeve by'suction created as the hoseexpands to-refill the hose.

It. has been found that when automobiles are traveling. very fast along.the highway and in heavy city traffic the hose does not refill fastenough to be completely refilled; before another vehicle passes acrossthe hose. For this reason the socket 55 and the opening 55 are provided,and referring to Figures 10 and 11 it will bev seen that a nipple 61 isscrewed into the socket 55- and projects upwardly from the base. Theupper whichthe opening. 5 t communicates.

6 portion: of nipple 61 istormed with a. threaded stem. or neck 68 whichpasses upwardly through an. opening in the insulating strip. .25 and issocured by anut 691 Arubber tube 10 has one end fitting tightly aboutthe neck of thenipple 6.1 and at its other end is fitted into the casinH of a check-valve 1.2.. This check valve 712 is disposed vertically andits casing ll is threaded externally so that it may be passed through anopening. 13 formed in the insulating strip 2 5 and secured by a nut 14.The ball .15 of the check valve is normally ina closed position againstthe seat 16 at the lower end of the casing H so that when air is forcedinward-1y by a vehicle wheel passing across the hose Bl air will betrapped in the opening 56 and the rubber tube and full force of the airunder pressureis exerted against the ball and quickly shifts, the ballBB upwardly to a cir cult closing position. When the vehicle wheelpassesoil of the hose 6! and the hose expands to: draw .air inwardly andback into the hose suction exerted. the opening '56 and the rubber tubelilidraws the hall l5v upwardly to its opened position. andv air mayflow through the auxiliary air passage formed by the tube; the nippleB1,. and the opening 55 into the portion of the well between thetwosleeves all and 5-1 and mingle with the air which is being drawn intothe hose 6! through the opening 43 and the nipple 3.8, inward. movement.or. airthrough the auxiliary air passage continuing. until the hose isfully retilled. Lugs 76 in the valve casing H limit upward movement ofthe ball l5 awa-y .iromits seat but do not interfere with inward flow ofairthrough the auxiliary air passage.

When a. vehicle is moving along a highway its wheels not only pass.across the hose 6| but also across a. hose 1'! having its inner endfitting tightly about the nipple 53 and its outer end closed. by a capH. An air screen 53 corresponding to the screen. 6-5 is mounted in. thenipple 53. Air which is. forced from this hose flows inwardly throughthe secondary air passage formed by the socket 52 and the opening 54-into the: lower sleeve 416 through. the slot 5b with This air is forced.upwardly into the pocket 18 of a piston 1.9. This piston fits snugly inthe bore of. the lawer sleeve and: the lower edge of its a-nnular'wallnormally-rests upon end portions. of the lugzfi. A neck: fill-projectsupwardly'irom the. center or the piston. '19 and at its upper end. isformed with a socket 8|? into which fits a ball 82 extending downwardlyfrom the center of a valve thin disc- 83; This valve disc is thereforeconnected with the neck of. the piston by a ball and socket joint and itmay tilt free in all directions and have fiat. contacting engagementwith the inner end. of the upper sleeve 5.1. and close the lower end ofits bore when the disc valve lsv shifted. upwardly' to a closed positionby upward movement of the piston. When the valve disc is in its lowered,or opened, position there is. sufficient space between its upper faceand the lower end.

, of the upper sleeve iior air to. pass about the valve disc andkflovvupwardly through the upper sleeve to shift the ball fill upwardly andclose the circuit, but when air under the piston moves the a Toeliminate the possibility of this great pressure breaking the seal ofvalve disc 83 and causing the counter to count when it should not counta small relief hole 61a is drilled in nipple 151 as shown in Figure 11,and the opening controlled by an adjusting screw 511). This tiny reliefhole has little or no effect on the counting cycle but when valve disc83 is closed and truck or bus weight is exerted on the hose 6! thepressure is relieved sufficient to keep valve disc 83 sealed.

When this trafiic counter is in use the casing or housing containing thecounting mechanism is deposited in a tree box or upon a side walk at oneside of a highway and the two hoses BI and 11 extended across thehighway, as shown in Figure l, outer ends of the hoses being secured bypegs or nails driven through the openings in the caps of the hoses. Forconvenience it will be assumed that the highway extends north and south.If it is desired to count traffic moving north, as indicated by thearrow 34, the box or housing is located at the west side of the highwayand as automobiles, or other vehicles, move in a north bound trafiiclane their wheels will first pass across the hose 6| and then acrosshose 1'! which extends parallel to and quite close to hose 6|. As thewheels of the vehicle pass across hose 6! air is forced from this hoseand through the main air passage and as it enters the space in the wellbetween the upper and lower sleeves and flows upwardly through the boreof the upper sleeve the ball 60 is dislodged from the seat 59 and movedupwardly so that the resilient contact strip 23 is flexed upwardly andthe circuit is closed to energize the solenoid and operate the counter II. Air then flows back into the hose and also through the tube "m andthe auxiliary air passage to quickly refill the hose. The wheels of thevehicle pass across the second hose l'l immediately after they leave thehose e! and the air is forced inwardly through the secondary air passageformed by the socket 52 and the opening 5i and enters the lower end ofthe wall where it exerts upward force upon the piston and shifts thepiston upwardly to close the valve disc 83, but as air from hose 3| hasalready been forced upwardly through the upper sleeve and the counteroperated the vehicle has been counted.

A vehicle traveling along the south bound lane,

as indicated by the arrow 85, will also pass across the two hoses butthe counter will not be operated. This is due to the fact that thewheels of the vehicle will first pass across the hose H and then acrosshose 61. As the wheels pass across hose H air is forced through the slot50 and upwardly under the piston so that the piston is shifted upwardlyand the valve disk seated in its closed position against the lower endof the upper sleeve. Flow of air upwardly through the upper sleeve toclose the circuit is thus prevented when air is forced into the spacebetween the two sleeves by the wheels of the vehicle passing across thehose 6|. It will thus be seen that north bound traific will be countedbut south bound trafiic not counted. All north bound traffic will becounted even if a vehicle traveling in this direction would movepartially or entirely into a south bound traffic lane while passinganother vehicle moving in the same direction or is traveling along acenter lane provided for vehicles to pass each other while traveling ineither direction. If a street has been designated to be a one way streetand it is desired to count the number of vehicles traveling along thestreet and thus determine whether the number of vehicles 8 using itjustifies use as a one way street the hose ll may be detached from thenipple 53 or merely not stretched across the street and vehicles movingnorth or south in all of the traffic lanes will all be counted by theuse of hose 6| only.

If south bound traffic is to be counted instead of north bound trafiicthe hoses may be crossed close to the box or housing before beingstretched across the highway, thus causing south bound vehicles to passacross the hose 6| first instead of north bound vehicles, or the countermay be placed at the other side of the street or highway. If it isdesired to count separately and at the same time vehicles moving in bothdirections two of the counters are used and set in place at oppositesides of the street. The two hoses Bi and T! are extended across thestreet and their caps 51' and TI removed so that the hoses may each haveone end connected with a nipple 38 of one counter and its other endconnected with the nipple 53 of the other counter, as shown in Figure20. A vehicle moving in either direction will then first pass across ahose from which air is forced to close a circuit and effect operation ofthe counter il in the housing at one side of the street, but the counterin the other housing across the street will not be operated. Thereforetraffic moving in both directions may be separately counted and recordsmade of how many ve-- hicles are traveling north and how many aretraveling south. This would be very desirable in order to determinewhether a street should be reserved for one way trafiic during rushhours and in which direction the traffic should be allowed to move alongthe street.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a traffic counter, a base formed with a vertical pocket and with afirst air passage communicating with the pocket intermediate the depththereof and a second air passage communicating with the lower portion ofthe pocket, means for connecting a hose pipe with the outer end of thefirst air passage, means for connecting a hose pipe With the outer endof the second air passage, a sleeve in the upper portion-of said pockethaving seats about its upper and lower ends, a sleeve in the lowerportion of said pocket formed with a side opening with which the secondair passage communicates, the first air passage communicating with thepocket between the sleeves, a valve member between the sleeves normallyin a lowered open position and movable upwardly to a closed positionagainst the lower' end of the upper sleeve by action of air forcedinwardly by a Vehicle wheel passing across the hose connected with thesecond air passage, a counting unit having electrically actuatedoperating means, a circuit for the operating means including a contactspaced from the upper sleeve, a movable contact normally spaced from thefirst contact and having a portion extending across the upper sleeve, anunconfined ball entirely free from and normally resting upon the seat ofthe upper sleeve and being freely movable upwardly off of the seat byair forced from the hose connected with the first air passage by avehicle wheel passing across the said hose and flowing upwardly throughthe upper sleeve, the

ball when so moved having direct engagement with the movable contact tomomentarily hold the movable contact in engagement with the firstcontact and close the circuit to energize the operating means, said ballwhile moving upwardly allowing rapid and unobstructed escape of air fromthe pocket about the ball and also allowing return of air about the ballthrough the pocket into the first mentioned hose during return movementof the ball, said base being also formed with an auxiliary air passagecommunieating with the portion of the pocket under the valve between theupper and lower sleeves, a tube connected with the outer end of theauxiliary air passage, an outwardly closing check valve for said tubenormally closed and being opened by the vacuum created in both hosesafter the passing of a vehicle over the hoses to quickly refill thehoses with air, said tube being formed with a small side openingconstituting a relief opening, and a screw mounted transversely of saidtube and constituting an adjustable closure for the side opening.

2. In a traffic counter, a body formed with a pocket, a counting unithaving electrically activated operating means, a circuit for saidoperating means including a contact spaced from said pocket and a secondcontact movable towards and away from the first contact and having aportion extending across the pocket, a seat about said pocket, anunconfined contact-operating .v

member free from and normally resting upon said seat and overlapped bythe movable contact and being freely movable away from the seat forapplying pressure to the movable contact by di rect engagement therewithand momentarily holding the movable contact in circuit-iclosingengagement with the first contact, a normally open valve in said pocket,said body being formed with an air passage adapted to have a hoseconnected with its outer end and having its inner end communicating withthe pocket in position for air to flowfrom the hose through the pocketand out of the pocket while dislodging the contact operating member andthereby efiecting closing of the circuit, the body being-also formedwith a second 4 air passage adapted to have a second hose connected withits outer end and having its inner end communicating with the socket inposition for closing the valve when air is forced from the second hoseand shutting off flow of air from the first hose through the pocket toact upon the contact-operating member, there being an auxiliary airpassage in the body, a tube leading from-the auxiliary air passage andcontrolled by an outwardly-closed check valve serving to prevent escapeof air through the auxiliary air passage during dislodgement of thecontact-operating member but allow inward flow of air during reseatingof the contact-operating member and refilling of the'first hose, saidtube being formed with a small opening in one side, and an adjustableclosure for the side opening.

3. In a traffic counter, a body formed with a pocket open at its top, acounting unit having electrically actuated operating means, a circuitfor said operating means including a contact spaced from said pocket anda second contact movable towards and away from the first con tact andhaving a portion extending across the pocket, a seat about the openupper end of said pocket, an unconfined contact-operating memberentirely free from and normally resting upon said seat and over-lappedby the movable contact and being freely movable upwardly away from theseat for applying lifting pressure to the movable contact by directengagement therewith and momentarily holding the movable contact incircuit-closing engagement with the first contact, a normally open valvein said pocket movable upwardly to a closed position,

a piston under said valve, the body being pro-,- vided with means fordelivering air under pres: sure from a vehicle-compressed hose into thepocket above the piston and forcing the air up wardly past the valve andthrough the pocket to dislodge the contact-operating member and move thesame in a circuit closing direction, and the body being also providedwith means for delivering air under pressure from a second vehiclecompressed hose into the said pocket at a point under the piston toshift the piston upwardly and thereby close the valve and temporarilyinterrupting flow of air between the control operating members and thefirst hose.

In a traffic counter, a body formed with a pocket, a counting unithaving electrically activated operating means, a circuit for saidoperating means including a contact spaced from said pocket and a secondcon-tact movable towards and away from the first contact and having aportion extending across the pocket, a seat about said pocket, anunconfined contact-operating member free from and normally resting uponsaid seat and over-lapped by the movable contact and being freelymovable away from the seat for applying pressure to the movable contactby direct engagement therewith and momentarily holding the movablecontact in circuit-closing engagement with the first contact, a normallyopen valve in said pocket, a piston in said pocket spaced from connectedwith said valve, the body being provided with means for delivering airunder pressure from a vehicle-compressed hose into the pocket betweenthe piston and the valve and forcing the air past the valve and throughthe-pocket to dislodge the contact-operating member and move the same ina circuit closing direction'when the hose is compressed by a vehiclemoving in one direction, and the body being also provided with means fordelivering air under pressure from -a second vehicleecompressed hoseinto the pocket back of the piston for shifting the piston toward theouter end of the pocket and closing the valve to prevent movement of thecontact=operating membe lf fil i is or ed frQm the .i 11059 bya vehiclemoving in an opposite direction and pa os b th hoses- 5. A pair oftraffic counters disposed at op:- p t s d s of a hi hwa a d each ha in abody and a counting unit carried thereby and having n e a ly a tuated opatin a iru t for the pera ing vm a i clu in m -mast nd a sec nd con t mb into and ut-of en gagement with the first contact and normally spacedtherefrom, a contact operating member movable from a normal position toa positiontor oment rily h g h m a l co tact in a circuit closingposition, the body being provided with a p ck t no mally blocke by the094132.501 operating member, said body being formed with an air passagethrough which air may flow into the pocket and move the contact operatorto a circuit closing position, a valve in said pocket movable from anormally open position to a closed 7 position for preventing flow of airfrom said passage through said pocket, a valve-closing piston slidablein said pocket under the valve, the body being also formed with a secondair passage through which air may flow into the pocket under the pistonand move the piston upwardly for shifting the valve to a closed positionand temporarily prevent closing of the circuit, and hoses extendingacross the highway and each having one end connected with the first airpassage of one tratfic counter and its other end connected with the sec-'11 nd air passage of the other trafiic counter whereby one trafliccounter may be rendered inoperative for counting flow of traffic in onedirection while the other counts trafilc flowing the said direction.

6. A pair of traflic counters disposed at opposite sides of a highwayand each having a body and a counting unit having an electricallyactuated operating means, a circuit for the operating means including anormally open circuit closer having a pneumatically operated operatingmember movable from a normal position to a position for momentarilyclosing the circuit closer, said body being provided with a pocketnormally blocked by the operating member and through which flow of airis controlled by a normally open valve, a piston in said pocketoperatively connected with said valve, and vehicle operated air ejectingmembers extending across the highway between the trafiic counters andeach having one end communicating with the pocket of one trafiic counterabove the piston therein for flow of air through the pocket past theopen valve to actuate the operating member and its other endcommunicating with a portion of the pocket of the second trafiic counterbelow the piston therein for shifting the piston upwardly and closingthe valve and thereby preventing operation of one counting unit to countflow of traffic in one direction and allow the other trafiic counter tocount traific flowing in the said direction.

7. In a trafiic counter, a body formed with a pocket, a counting unithaving electrically actuated operating means, a circuit for saidoperating means including a contact movable into and out of circuitclosing engagement with a second contact, a contact operating membernormally blocking the pocket and movable in a direction to shift themovable contact into engagement with the second contact by action of airforced through the pocket and about the contact operating member, apneumatically operated valve in said pocket normally open and movable toa closed position for preventing fiow of air through the pocket toeffect closing of the circuit, pneumatic means for forcing air past theopen valve and through the pocket to move the contact operator in acircuit closing direction including an air ejector adapted to have airforced from it by a vehicle passing across it, and a second-pneumaticmeans for forcing air into the pocket in position to act upon andtemporarily close said valve including an air ejector adapted to haveair forced from it by a vehicle passing across it.

8. In a traffic counter, a body having a pocket, a counting unit carriedby said body and having electrically actuated operating means, a circuitfor said operating means including a contact and a second contactmovable into and out of circuit closing engagement with the firstcontact and normally spaced from the first contact, a contact operatingmember movable relative to the pocket into and out of position tomomentarily hold the movable contact in engagement with the firstcontact, pneumatic means carried by said body and including an airejector extending from the body in position for a vehicle to pass acrossit and force air from the ejector to act upon. the contact operatingmember and eifect closing of the circuit, a valve in the pocket movablefrom a normally open position to a closed position in which itinterrupts flow of air into engagement with the contact operatingmember, pneumatic means for actuating said valve carried by said body,and an air ejector extending from said body in position for a vehicle topass across it and force air therefrom into the pocket in position toact upon the pneumatic means to act upon and move the valve to a closedposition for preventing closing of thecircuit.

9. In a traflic counter, a body having a pocket, a counting unit havingelectrically actuated operating means, a circuit for said operatingmeans including a contact and a second contact movable into and out ofcircuit closing engagement with the first contact and normally spacedfrom the first contact, a contact operating member movable relative tothe pocket into and out of position to momentarily hold the movablecontact in engagement with the first contact, pneumatic means includinan air ejector communicating with the pocket and disposed in positionfor a vehicle to pass across it and force air from the ejector to actupon the contact operating member and eifect closing of the circuit, avalve in.

the pocket movable from a normally open position to a closed position inwhich it interrupts fiow of air into engagement with the contactoperating member, a pneumatically operated operating member for saidvalve in said pocket, and a second air ejector communicating with saidpocket and disposed in position for a vehicle to pass across it andforce air therefrom into the pocket in position to act upon thepneumatically operated operating member and cause the said pneumaticallyoperated operating member to act upon and move the valve to a closedposition for preventing closing of the circuit.

GLEN R. HALL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,166,090 Cooper July 11, 1939'- 2,340,634 Wiley Feb. 1, 19442,403,277 Hall July 2, 1946 I

